Main Character Syndrome as Politics
On dark woke politics, ICE, Bari Weiss, and the crossroads of liberalism
If the two main political stratagems of our time are shitposting and aura farming, the primary aim of political figures is not service, but persona. The mask of the public figure is not dissimilar from exuding an aura in that both prefer referencing praxis rather than practicing it. It’s not only the right that has a cult of personality problem, the left also still believes in princes on white horses coming to save us—look no further than the rise of “dark woke.” Watch as AOC, I’ve Had It’s Jennifer Welch, and Gavin Newsom gleefully deride, bully, and call out far-right politicians. The furthest edge of such a practice might be the popular podcast TruAnon, though of course, they’re leftists, not liberals. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with adopting these more aggressive tactics on the left, it’s not like the right cares if the left “plays nice.” Personally, I find listening to both I’ve Had It and TruAnon invigorating. The problem is that some see Zohran Mamdani as a singular figure, a savior, instead of a cumulative moment that results from the work of a mobilized community. This is Main Character Syndrome as politics, an exhausting cycle of hope and pessimism. No single person can change everything—even if we want them to.
Last fall’s GQ profile of the TruAnon gang notes they’ve become “‘personalities’ with ravenous, invasive fans.” Even the hosts themselves are nervous about the “‘influencerization’ of everyday people.” Jennifer Welch has become known as the Joe Rogan of the Left with some even encouraging her to run for president. Can they offer us a way out and, crucially, can they change the conversation? It seems inevitable that when such characters fall, as they always do, it can fracture momentum instead of building cohesion. After Bernie Sanders’s loss in 2016, it’s true some joined organizations like DSA and re-mobilized for Zohran Mamdani last fall, but plenty of others let the defeat curdle their political commitments. Some even voted for Trump.
On the conservative end, nowhere is this opportunistic individualism more apparent than in Bari Weiss. As Claire Malone’s excellent profile of the CBS czar details, she’s jumped from one publication to the next, from books to opinion, always ready to shit talk her previous employer as too liberal or crotchety before she finally launched The Free Press and started praising Trump in earnest. Her reward was a television network, one where she seems to have full authorial approval. She is not interested in those she deems “politically homeless,” but in herself.
Trump’s second term seems marked by these rags to riches stories, tales of power-hungry dilettantes climbing to the top by ruthlessly aligning themselves with whoever is most powerful—or profitable—at any given time. It’s a deeply cynical job market out there in the age of economic depression and AI automation.
You should be infuriated. It is beyond enraging to watch Kristi Noem and J.D. Vance justify the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti alongside the invasion of Venezuela. The U.S.’s imperialism both abroad come home to roost in I.C.E. The videos coming out of Minnesota the past few weeks have been brutal. Banal in their images of icy streets strewn with cars until the roar of gun shots brings the cityscape into sharp relief with eerie silence. “It can feel kind of slapstick, until you remember that they will destroy someone’s life today, and that they can kill you,” Erin West writes in N+1.
The protests against I.C.E. in Minneapolis are the opposite of siloed liberal politics. The sheer amount of organized resistance through Signal groups and in-person community mobilization is staggering. Opposition to I.C.E. is bubbling up across demographics. If the 2016 resistance was marked by pussy hats and a fear that Trump would disturb the order of capitalism, the resistance is now marked by wine moms and teachers radicalized by the murder of their neighbors. Of course, many wonder why it took so many white Americans in particular so long to wake up. Now even the editorial board of The Washington Post is calling this a “turning point in Trump’s second term.” Despite the harsh winter, Minnesotans continue to pour out onto the streets. They are used to the cold, but not the siege. After the murder of George Floyd, many outreach groups, grocery delivery services, and vigilant block associations cropped up on social media, ready to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of distributing resources. Now they’re back—despite the tear gas. Those who are acting as whistle-blowers and observers are coming from all walks of life. They are not, as Republicans seem to believe, an organized branch of so-called Antifa.
Jennifer Welch’s strength is the coalition-minded politics she both preaches and practices. Her work is about making sure no one gets left behind. “I was a very good MSNBC liberal,” Welch recently told The New Yorker Radio Hour. Past tense. Now she’s fighting Cory Booker over his refusal to call what’s happening in Gaza a genocide and ripping into Rahm Emmanuel for his antagonism towards trans rights. Few are willing to draw such a line in the sand.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is another left-leaning intellectual with iron-clad beliefs who faced intense scrutiny over his last book, The Message, and his reflections on the genocide in Gaza. When Charlie Kirk was murdered, Coates ended up talking with Ezra Klein over at The New York Times about the nature of political violence, polarization, and winning hearts and minds in middle America. Coates was cynical yet pragmatic and argued there were important boundaries and beliefs worth holding. “I do think, on a basic level, there’s a respect that has to be had for people with whom I disagree. At the same time, I recognize that part of my audience — and I would say an important part of my audience — is people who have never enjoyed that respect. People who, in fact, are subjects of the kind of hate that Charlie Kirk was harvesting,” Coates told Klein. There are people who’ve been the subject of organized abandonment that Kirk zeroed in on, Coates seems to say. He argues he can’t turn his back on trans people or Haitian immigrants. “I’m all for bridging gaps but not at the expense of my neighbor’s humanity,” he pointedly asserts. It was one of the few times I’ve seen a cis public intellectual make such an argument—a demand—and link it to a wider struggles for human rights. It was also fascinating to watch two liberals fight about the direction of our country. This is the crux of it. Do we want to shrink or expand?
It is nearly impossible to unearth a coherent story from the lethal swamp of American politics. Someone is always playing chutes and ladders with the lives of very real people, unafraid of the consequences. Trump is vicious. If he really is backed into a corner, he’s more dangerous than ever, ready to unleash a barrage of military operations unimpeded by common decency or the demands of Congress. This is the final boss of personality politics, someone so invested in his legacy and mythology that he has eaten through the guardrails of an already fragile democracy. Still, there are cracks. Even Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, seems fed up by his toxic swagger, casually saying he has an “alcoholic’s personality.” In an earlier email before her explosive interview with Vanity Fair, Wiles said “I don’t welcome people who want to work solo or be a star.” Yet, MAGA is a magnet for such personalities. Falling stars and solo dictators intent on milking their current positions as much as they can.
Liberalism too is at a crossroads. Many are tired of the same old answers by mainstream Democrats hungry for power. They want a new coalition, one where their neighbors are not subject to public execution.
Recent writing:
Love this, Grace. So beautifully put: "This is the crux of it. Do we want to shrink or expand?" I will be thinking about this for a while.
Yes